First I am going to write about the other Crinum bulbs I mentioned, and then I will give mention to ever exciting events around here.

We still have Crinum jagus blooming. Ours is a variety handed down to us by one of the authorities on Crinum in the South, and we were given it as Crinum jagus ‘Rattrayi.’ Of the C. jagus varieties, Scott Ogden writes in his book “Garden Bulbs for the South” that the “best forms of this tropical African crinum, such as the cultivar long grown in the in the South as ‘Rattrayi’, smell deliciously of vanilla.” (Ogden p. 196) We only get one bloom per bulb per year, and it generally comes earlier in the year for us. This late in the year, the snow white tulip shaped blossoms have a hard time holding on and the tips of our petals develop a black, almost burnt tip. On the other side to that, perhaps there is no equal in the crinum world for the large attractive foliage that stays “clean” all year round. This variety is a little tender so be careful with it, especially in Zones 7 or lower. It is pictured above with a pearl bush to the right.

There is a narrow leaved form of this ‘Rattrayi’ that we are growing, and we believe it to be Crinum jagus scillafolia. Thank you to all who helped in the ID. The blooms look very much like the regular leaved jagus variety and they have the same fragrance, but the attractive foliage takes on a much more narrow appearance. It seems an oxymoron to have a narrow leaved form of a bulb that’s name (jagus) is derived from “a corruption of the word gigas (“gigantic”) [referring] to the lush, dark green foliage of these bulbs.” (Ogden-196). By the way, if you have not picked up the new version of Scott Ogden’s book “Garden Bulbs for the South” you might enjoy the new pictures, write-ups, and revisions.

The blooms on our crinums are becoming shorter and shorter with the heat. Some of them open up in the morning and are drooping in the afternoon—kind of like me. It was 94 degrees in the pole barn yesterday, with high humidity. A special thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Burton for all of their help. They were both instrumental in developing the infrastructure of this farm with the wiring and laying of pipe, and I can’t thank you enough for your help in harvest and the barn yesterday. Erin continues to come out and help also and we remain thankful!

Some excitement yesterday. What do these pictures have in common?

There is a copperhead in them. He was a decent sized copperhead, and we really didn’t enjoy having him behind the barn. Perhaps he was stalking the oversized rat we also had a visit from yesterday.

We continued our harvest in the field. Slow going with the heat but we are making progress. Slow and steady wins the race, or as Chad Jones father (Superintendent of a school district in South Texas) used to say “Inch by inch it’s a cinch, mile by mile it takes awhile.” I’m sure he wasn’t the first to say it, but it’s where I heard it.

Brad’s fiancé sent us an article yesterday from MSN Lifestyle about what kind of dogs owners should have. I particularly enjoyed that the dogs that are specifically NOT recommended for a hectic lifestyle are Weimaraners. Reminds me of my recent trip to London.

What do you do when you need to leave on an international trip for a week, and you have an 80lbs hyperactive dog that remains in a “puppy” stage for almost 2 years? You ask some girl you hardly know in Houston to leave him in her apartment of course. Now before you start thinking something shady, this came through reputable connections! Upon returning home from the UK, I was really surprised that all had gone well with the dog. I decided that I needed to take her out to dinner to say thank you. So we left Fischer in a room and Gus, her Great Dane in another as we headed to a nice restaurant in Houston.

Had a wonderful dinner, and when we got back to her apartment I cautiously opened the door and was horrified to see that Konig Fischer had chewed on part of her futon base. It was fixable though. It wasn’t until I opened the door all the way that I noticed he had torn through her dry wall trying to get into the other room. Why? Why dog? I spent the night spackling dry wall. Not really the whole night. There was only so much I could do until the spackling dried. She took care of the rest later and was extremely gracious, but I think that is the last I can call for that favor. The debt is turned and I am indebted. Thank you my Houston friend. And she pulled out the priceless joke when she e-mailed me:
"One tub of spackle.....$4.00
A quart of red paint....$5.50
A rambunctious traveling partner....priceless"

How appropriate that as I write my blog, Fischer, who chewed grass all day while we harvested, has just thrown...I'll say "left the grass".... on my carpet in the office, and it is no small spot. How I love cleaning up after my dog at 5 in the morning, dodging sleeping guests who are helping with the harvest. We love our dogs and cats and whatevers, but we always seem to step in their water bowls in the morning, have to clean up their messes at inopportune times, and are always making apologies for their behavior towards guests. The training with my dog continues and I hope by the time we open to the public I will have him where he needs to be.

No visitors yesterday and all work, which is where I must go! John and Cpt. Burton had some fun later in the evening with the new fly rod. The bluegill really tug on those lighter rods.

New website almost ready!